The present invention relates to a simple and inexpensive method for making shock-resistant packages for fragile or sensitive articles in order to protect such articles during handling, shipping or storage. When housed in a suitable container, a package made in accordance with the present invention substantially neutralizes any direct shock transfer to a fragile article therein.
In the prior art, various cushioning materials and cushioning devices have been used in attempts to protect fragile articles in packages and containers from shocks and/or vibrations usually experienced during handling and shipment. There are many cushioning materials available for use which can be categorized by major groups. The cellular group includes such materials as cork and wood which have moderate resilience, and highly resilient materials such as natural and synthetic elastomers which include foam rubber, latex foam and expanded polystyrene, for example. The mated fiber group includes many materials in the cellulosic sub-group such as straw, paper and excelsior. Also included in the matted fiber group are inorganic materials such as glass fiber pads and materials of animal origin such as felt and curled hair. Granular materials form another group and include popcorn and sawdust, for example. One more major group comprises ridged, creped, corrugated or molded materials of which single-face corrugated fiberboard is very popular.
When the above prior art cushioning materials do not provide the proper protection for fragile, sensitive articles or are not economical, then the usual practice has been to use special cushioning systems. These systems include tension spring mountings, suspension mountings, and shock and shear mounts. Tension spring arrangements do not always function with linear characteristics and vibration isolation is often an extreme problem. In suspension systems, canvas straps are widely used to float an article to be protected but, in most cases, only about half of the straps being used will carry the load. Although shock and shear mounts have been widely employed to minimize shock damage, it has been often necessary to provide damping systems to damp out natural vibration frequencies encountered during shipment. Additionally, some other prior art protective containers and packaging methods are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,771,184; 2,811,246; 3,038,593; 3,136,413 and 3,700,097; and Australian Pat. No. 265,973.